GROZNY, Russia, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Four people were killed in Russia's Chechnya region on Saturday when an earthquake shook the Caucasus mountains, the Emergencies Ministry said.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.9, classing it as moderate.

The four victims were killed in the Chechen town of Kurchaloi, about 20 km (12 miles) southeast of the regional capital Grozny, a ministry spokesman said on Vesti news channel. Russian news agencies said the dead included a soldier who was killed when a wall collapsed on him.

The 40-second tremor knocked windows out of a literature institute in Grozny and cracked the facade of the regional administration headquarters. But damage in the town was otherwise minimal.

A Reuters Television producer in Tbilisi said the quake could be felt in the Georgian capital nearly 250 km (180 miles) away. (Writing by Melissa Akin: Editing by Richard Balmforth)

AlertNet news is provided by